Is IDrive or Scaleway better?

Neither clearly leads. IDrive starts at $2.5/month and Scaleway at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, IDrive or Scaleway?

Scaleway has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $2.5/month for IDrive and Free for Scaleway.

Does IDrive or Scaleway run on more platforms?

IDrive runs on Windows, Mac, Linux, Web. Scaleway runs on Web, Api, Cli.

Can I use Scaleway for free?

Yes. Scaleway has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. IDrive starts at $2.5/month.

What is IDrive best used for?

IDrive is most often used for online backup for computers, servers and mobile devices, backing up multiple machines under one account. Of those, online backup for computers, servers and mobile devices and backing up multiple machines under one account are not what Scaleway is typically brought in for.

What can IDrive do that Scaleway cannot?

IDrive covers Multiple device backup, True archiving, Continuous protection, IDrive Express. Scaleway covers Virtual Instances, Bare Metal, Kubernetes Kapsule, Object Storage. Both handle Web support.

File Storage · head to head

IDrive vs Scaleway

IDrive

File Storage

Affordable online backup with multiple device support

From: $2.5/month
Rated: -

Full review Website

Scaleway

Cloud

European cloud for developers

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Only Scaleway has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: IDrive the advertised annual rates are first year introductory prices, with standard pricing applying from the second year onward; Scaleway no free tier or trial period mentioned on homepage
They diverge on capability: IDrive covers Multiple device backup, Scaleway covers Virtual Instances.
Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which IDrive and Scaleway actually diverge.

Attributes where IDrive and Scaleway differ
Attribute	IDrive	Scaleway
Starting price	$2.5/month	Free
Pricing model	subscription	usage-based
Free tier	No	Yes
Platforms	Windows, Mac, Linux, Web	Web, Api, Cli
Category	File Storage	Cloud
Founded	1995	1999

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in IDrive

Multiple device backup
True archiving
Continuous protection
IDrive Express
Snapshots
File sharing
iOS
Android

Only in Scaleway

Virtual Instances
Bare Metal
Kubernetes Kapsule
Object Storage
Serverless Functions
Managed Databases
Container Registry
Load Balancer

Both cover

Web support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

IDrive

Online backup for computers, servers and mobile devicesnot Scaleway
Backing up multiple machines under one accountnot Scaleway

Scaleway

Web hostingnot IDrive
Container orchestrationnot IDrive
Development environmentsnot IDrive
Data storagenot IDrive

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

IDrive

The advertised annual rates are first year introductory prices, with standard pricing applying from the second year onward
The two year offer discounts only the first year, so the second year reverts to the full rate
Team plans tie user and computer counts to the storage tier, so 10 TB means exactly 10 computers
Business storage costs far more per terabyte than Personal, at $719.88 a year for 1.25 TB against $143.88 for 5 TB

Scaleway

No free tier or trial period mentioned on homepage
Specific pricing requires navigating to individual product category pages
Base pricing starts at 4.99 EUR per month but varies significantly by service type

Pricing, plan by plan

IDrive

$2.5/month

IDrive Personal$2.5/month
- Promotional pricing: $2.50/month (billed annually)
- Regular pricing: $6.99/month
- 50% savings with annual billing
IDrive Team$null/month
- Cloud backup service for small business
IDrive Business$null/month
- Backup for computers and servers
IDrive 360 Enterprise Backup$null/month
- Endpoint, servers, and SaaS cloud backup
- For MSPs and IT teams

Scaleway

Free

DEV1-S$7.99/month
- 2 vCPU
- 2GB RAM
- 20GB SSD

Which should you pick?

Choose IDrive if

You need multiple device backup.
You work on Windows, Mac, Linux, Web.
You also want true archiving.

IDrive review

Choose Scaleway if

You need virtual instances.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Web, Api, Cli.
You also want bare metal.

Scaleway review

Questions people ask

Is IDrive or Scaleway better?: Neither clearly leads. IDrive starts at $2.5/month and Scaleway at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, IDrive or Scaleway?: Scaleway has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $2.5/month for IDrive and Free for Scaleway.
Does IDrive or Scaleway run on more platforms?: IDrive runs on Windows, Mac, Linux, Web. Scaleway runs on Web, Api, Cli.
Can I use Scaleway for free?: Yes. Scaleway has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. IDrive starts at $2.5/month.
What is IDrive best used for?: IDrive is most often used for online backup for computers, servers and mobile devices, backing up multiple machines under one account. Of those, online backup for computers, servers and mobile devices and backing up multiple machines under one account are not what Scaleway is typically brought in for.
What can IDrive do that Scaleway cannot?: IDrive covers Multiple device backup, True archiving, Continuous protection, IDrive Express. Scaleway covers Virtual Instances, Bare Metal, Kubernetes Kapsule, Object Storage. Both handle Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

IDrive: How much does IDrive Personal cost?

IDrive Personal starts at $2.50/month when billed annually, representing a 50% discount from the regular price of $6.99/month. A 7-day free trial is available without requiring a credit card.

Source

Scaleway: Does Scaleway have a free tier?

Scaleway does not mention a free tier or trial period on its pricing or homepage. Users must select specific services to see rates.

Source

IDrive: What is the price for IDrive Cloud Applications Backup?

IDrive Cloud Applications Backup costs $20 per seat per year with unlimited storage. This covers backups for Microsoft 365, Microsoft Entra ID, Google Workspace, Salesforce, Dropbox, and Box.

Source

Scaleway: What is Scaleway's pricing model?

Scaleway uses transparent, usage-based pricing that varies by service. Different categories (bare metal, compute, AI, storage, network) have separate pricing. Dedibox servers start at 4.99 EUR per month.

Source

IDrive: How much does IDrive e2 cloud object storage cost?

IDrive e2 starts at $29.75 per year for 1 TB (first-year promotional pricing; regular price $59.50/year). IDrive markets this as 90% cheaper than AWS pricing for equivalent storage.

Source

Scaleway: How does Scaleway billing work?

Scaleway emphasizes transparent, predictable billing where customers know exactly what they'll pay. Users must select products and view pricing within each category.

Source

IDrive vs Scaleway

IDrive

Scaleway

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in IDrive

Only in Scaleway

Both cover

What people use each for

IDrive

Scaleway

Where each one falls short

IDrive

Scaleway

Pricing, plan by plan

IDrive

Scaleway

Which should you pick?

Choose IDrive if

Choose Scaleway if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on IDrive

More on Scaleway

Keep looking

Other head to heads